St. Mary's woman sentenced in death of motorcyclist

LA PLATA, MD - Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced Thursday, Dec. 13, that Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West sentenced Kelly Yvonn Young, 61 of Hollywood to five years in prison for the vehicular killing of Robert Maguire of Broomes Island. Following her time in prison, Young will have five years of supervised probation.

On July 30, Young entered a guilty plea to vehicular manslaughter in Charles County Circuit Court.

On Oct. 8, 2015, troopers from the Maryland State Police responded to Maryland Route 234 in the area of Edgewater Drive for the report of a collision involving a passenger vehicle, pickup truck, and motorcycle. At the scene, troopers observed a Chevrolet Camaro and a Harley Davidson motorcycle with severe damage. They also observed a Ford F-250 with serious damage. The driver of the Chevrolet Camaro–Young–was suffering with non-life-threatening injuries, but also showed signs of impairment. Victim Maguire (pictured, right) was discovered lying in a grassy area with fatal injuries. Both Young and the driver of the Ford F-250 were transported by helicopter to be treated for their injuries. Unfortunately, Maguire was pronounced deceased at the scene.

An investigation into the collision revealed that Young was traveling westbound Maryland Route 234. During this time, Maguire was traveling eastbound Maryland Route 234 operating a Harley Davidson motorcycle. A Ford F-250 was directly behind Maguire’s motorcycle. During travel, Young failed to drive in a single lane and entered the eastbound side of the roadway, colliding head on with Maguire’s motorcycle. As a result, Maguire was ejected from his motorcycle to a grassy area on the eastbound side of the roadway. After the collision with Maguire, Young’s vehicle collided with the Ford F-250, causing the truck to travel off the roadway on the eastbound side. Prior to the collision, Young was observed by her boyfriend, who was traveling westbound Maryland Route 234 in a separate vehicle, swerving into the other lane. Her boyfriend called expressing concern, however, Young continued driving.

A blood test kit was conducted on Young that revealed she was impaired by Cocaine, Oxycodone, and Benzoylecgonine (Cocaine Metabolite) on the date of the collision.

During sentencing Assistant State’s Attorney Constance B. Kopelman told the judge, “There has to be a serious response to what the defendant did. The defendant’s choices are why we’re here. In a day and age of Uber, Lyft, and taxi services, she chose to get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs. And here, it seems her boyfriend tried to get her to stop. Not caring about anyone’s safety, she chose to keep going and that choice killed Mr. Maguire. – There is never a reason to get behind the wheel in [that] condition.”